The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1887-11-20
THE WIZARD EDISON
Tells What His Forthcoming
Photograph Will Do.
A REVOLUTION IN WRITING.
Talk Into the Machine and a Letter
Comes Out Ready made-Psn
Writing u Lost Art

day in his Newark lamp factory, not at
all disturbed by the criticisms of some
scientific skeptics who edoubt that his
coming pnonograph will be able to do
half or quarter of what he claims for
it. In answer to about 200 quest ons,
more or less, Mr.. Edis3n said:
perhaps l am wron3 in telling you
anything about my photograph, be-
cause what l claim for it is so extra
ordinary that 1 get only ridicule in re-
turn. l am so confident that when the
apparatus appears it will dispel all
doubts as to its practicability and
working value that can afford for the
present to ignore all kinds of criticism
and keep at my work regardless of the
storm which | have been raising by
telling g few people that there was
such thing as perfected photograph
in existence. l am sure that while
scientific men may doubt that have
succeeded as well as say 1 have, they
will admit that there is nothing at all
impossible in what claim, and that
the germ of the perfected photograph,
should such a thing appear, is very
clear in my old toy of ten years ago,
which was exhibited all over the coun-
trv, and was then acknowledged to be
one of the wonders of The century.
Just consider for a second what my old
monograph is, and think how little
needed to be done to bring it to
working instrument. With my roughly
constructed instrument of 1877 l re-
produced all sorts of sounds, getting
back from the phonograph something
like the original sound. OF course, you
had to yell into the thing, and the re-
production of conversation was often
something of a carlcature of the
original. Nevertheless, to obtain a re-
suit that could be understood was dol
wonders, and most people who RENT
Der my exhibitions will admit that white
I did not produce a commercial
machine, made very interesting and
creditable attempt, and my Whlstllng
and singing photograph was a wonder.
There were all sorts OF objections IN
detail to my first instrument. 1t
weighed about 100 pounds, it cost
mint of money to make; no one but
du GAp0II COulu SCb JhIbS
BILE back from it; the record made
by the little steel point upon a sheet
of tinfoil lasted only a few times
after il had been put through the
phonograph. l myself doubted whether
I should ever see perfect phOnograph,
ready to record any kind OF ordinary
speech and to give it out again intelll
gently. But / was perfectly sure thatif
we did not accomplish this the next
generation would. And dropped the
monograph and went to work upon
The electric light, certain that | had
sown seed which would come to some
thing. For ten years the photograph
has come up in my brain automatically
AID almost periodically. l would TURF
it over mentally when l had nothing
else to think about. When l couldn't
sleep at night, when travelling, when
worried about business affairs, would
think the phonogrsph lover and jot
down any new ideas for future expert
ments. Eight months ago l began
laboratory work upon it again,
and q month ago l stopped, be-
cause l could see no further
improvement to be made. 1t is a
finished machine-simple, cheap, effect
i've, not liable to get out Of order, and it
does everything that ever hoped the
parfected monograph might do.
"My photograph will occupy about as
much space on the merchants desk, or
at the side of the desk, as typewriter
does. 1t will work automatically by
small electric motor, which runs at q
perfectly regular rate of speed, is noise
less, anu starts or stops at the touch OF
d srring. Suppose the merchant wishes
to write letter; he pulls the mouth
piece of the phonograph to him, starts
the motor with a touch, and says
what he has TO say in an ordinary tone
of voice. When heis done he pulls out
little sheet and rolls it up for the
mail. The recipient places this sheet
in similar photograph, touches
the motor spring, and the instrument
will at once read out the letter
in tone more distinct, clearer,
more characteristic of the voice of the
writer than any telephone you or ever
heard. The photograph voice is not a
loud voice, perhaps not more than twice
RS loud as the sound you get from q
good telephone, and an earphone will
bs necessary. This, however, may not
be an objection, iDasmuch as people do
not always want to have their letters
heard all over the Office. In aiming
for lOudness in the phOnograph. | went
astray in my first experiment; should
have tried for clearness. The present
apparatus will satisfy any one who is
half satisfied with the telephone. Of
course, there are no disturbances in the
photographic message, such as those
made By induction along telephone
wire, and as the apparatus will repeat
the letter over and over egain, it is pos
I sible to understand every syllable, even
in a Doisy Office. l was 80 overcome
with the success of my first instrum- Mt,
finished about six weeks ago, that
doubled whether l could make another
equally good, and l went to work at
once to do so; my second instrument
works as well as the first, and l have
| forty workmen employedin making the
| tools for the manufacture of the first
lot of sou monographs. They will cost
| $50 apiece.
Now for some speculation as to
what people may do with the phono
graph. | am confident that it will be
! found In the office of every busy man.
l am confident that the editor and the
reporter of the future will never think
of losing time by writing with pen OF